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2. Learning teaching skills No matter how fluent and accurate a teacher may be in English, even native English speakers will not be effective at getting across the information to students without acquiring solid teaching skills. Having a thorough knowledge of the English language, including its grammar, pronunciation, and colloquial usage, is extremely important. Very little can replace the value of a teacher who knows the language inside and out. However, even with a teacher who is highly skilled at using English may have trouble successfully teaching the language to students. Without utilizing effective techniques, students may easily become confused and intimidated, and may not be able to absorb material. Body language, eye contact, and tone are all important factors in generating respect from students while also creating a relaxed atmosphere that is conducive to learning. A teacher must know when to use eye contact so as not to seem unconfident and when not to use it so as not to intimidate students. It is also important to know when to sit and stand; standing can be more useful when actively doing boardwork, while sitting is more natural during group work scenarios. It is important to pay attention to how you address students, such as not pointing at them to call them out, stating their name before a question in order to indicate them, and not picking on students who are clearly shy. Likewise, it is important to make sure that you do not solely select confident, outspoken, and higher-level students to answer questions, as the goal is to get all students actively involved and speaking. Perhaps by far the most important skill to learn in order to be an effective teacher is the skill to adapt to any scenario. Lesson plans are crucial in order to have a strong idea of what you aim to accomplish during the lesson, as well as exactly what steps you will take to get there. They provide some sense of structure so that you don’t ever feel lost and can also be a good way to formulate an idea of how much time each activity or segment should take. However, since lessons are carried out in real world classrooms rather than on paper, it is almost a certainty that they will not go completely according to plan. This could be because of behavior problems in the case of young learners, or it could be due to activities taking longer than the lesson planned for. If the lesson veers off track, a good teacher will have to be able to adapt it from the original plan to make sure objectives are still met. Going along with adaptability, real world classes are an interactive experience with real people, so the teacher will need to be adept at reacting to social situations. There may be cultural differences that could cause miscommunications between students, or between student and teacher. Also, different students may react differently to different styles of teaching, depending on personality or speaking level. Learning effective teaching skills is the bridge between one’s expertise in English and one’s ability to communicate that expertise to students who may not be very familiar with the language at all. It is therefore imperative that those seeking to teach English as a foreign language develop skills and strategies that can help them be as effective a language teacher as possible, and moreover, to make sure students get the most out of their English class.
